August has been an exciting end to summer and the beginning of the third year of programming for MTB. For AY 2022-2023, we welcomed our biggest cohorts of new students. 14 new High School Fellows, all rising juniors in the Passaic Public Schools, will start their journeys towards higher education with the support of six new MTB Leaders from their own community! 

The new MTB College Student Leaders for the 2022-2023 academic year are Evelin Cabrera Acosta (Kean University), Michelle Carpinteyro (Emory University), Lisberma Peralta Aquino (Vassar College), Nereida Delgado Garcia (Montclair State University), Parth Rana (Princeton University), and Ashley Delgado (William Paterson University). 

Ashley is the first College Student Leader in MTB to have completed two years as a High School Fellow in the program!

These 20 students will join our returning 5 High School Fellows (now seniors) and 3 returning College Student Leaders.

Congratulations to Lizbeth, Melissa, and Joseph!

We were so excited to celebrate the graduation of Lizbeth and Melissa (two MTB Leaders), and Joseph (our summer intern with MTB) from the Governor's Hispanic Fellows Program. We couldn't be more proud of them!

Joseph, who organized and ran the first MTB graduation cap contest, among other responsibilities, contributed greatly during his time with us, and he was awarded special recognition by CHPRD (New Jersey Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development) for his leadership.

Melissa and Lizbeth both enjoyed their summer placements at, respectively, IACO (Immigration & American Citizenship Organization) in Passaic, and the Office of Community Relations at Plainfield Public Schools.

Other MTB Leaders have had the opportunity to hear about their experiences this summer, and we hope MTB will place many Leaders into and host many interns from the Governor's Hispanic Fellows Program.

Congratulations to Yessenia!

Congratulations to High School Fellow Yessenia for attending this summer's Hispanic Student College Institute. Yessenia had the opportunity to network with Hispanic students from around NJ, learn more about college, and spend a couple of days (and nights) on Montclair's lovely campus. Juniors, keep your eyes out for this awesome (free!) opportunity!

Meet Our Newest Community Members

"During my program at Mount Sinai, four other girls and myself came up with the idea of creating an app to tackle the disproportionate impact of the opioid epidemic on recently released prisoners. OpioidFree aims to combat opioid-related morbidity and mortality among recently released prisoners by targeting their criminogenic needs in an effort to fight the greater opioid epidemic in the United States. In addition, the app aims to prevent other social issues in formerly incarcerated individuals such as homelessness, malnutrition, poor mental health, etc. by increasing accessibility to social programs.

We pitched our idea twice and have been 1st place winners both times! We won the NERA Diversity Innovations HUB Pitch Day 2022 out of 34 competitors for a prize of $2,500 and just a few days ago, we won the Diversity Innovation Hub Pitch Day 2022 for the Community Impact Award, a prize of $10,000. 

I'm beyond thrilled and can't wait to see what it all becomes! Thank you for wanting to celebrate with me."

We are so proud of Lisberma's achievement and know that she will be an invaluable mentor and community member!

Welcome Dr. Jay Shivamoggi!

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Jayashree (Jay) Shivamoggi to More Than Bootstraps’ Advisory Board!

Dr. Jay is the founder and former director of the Office of External and Competitive Scholarships at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and has helped hundreds of students pursue a wide variety of competitive fellowships and scholarships.

She served on the Executive Board of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors for four years. Dr. Jay is currently an independent consultant who works with high school students, undergraduates, and students applying to medical school, law school, and graduate school.

We will all benefit greatly from her extensive experience and expertise!

Stay Organized and Inspired!

Nicole, an MTB volunteer, a first-generation college student herself, and a graphic design major, transformed the amazing pictures and stories from our Graduation Cap Contest into an awesome, inspirational planner. There are planners for all Fellows and Leaders; if you didn't yet receive yours, reach out to Reka, rogreka@morethanbootstraps.org.

Now, when you record your upcoming MTB meetings, college or scholarship application deadlines, or exams, you can continue to be inspired by others who, like you, succeeded in education!

August's Featured Video

As part of the MTB summer program, MTB Board Member Ricardo Ortegón did an overview and walkthrough for our seniors of the Common App.

You can watch this video for an overview of the process. Juniors might be interested in watching to look at what's ahead.

Congratulations to our seniors who have already started their college application process! It's scary, but you are on your way!

Recent Events

We've had some awesome in-person events to welcome our rising juniors!

On July 31, we gathered at the beautiful Passaic Boathouse Cafe to welcome our newest MTB High School Fellows. Computers from Revivn were distributed, ice cream was eaten, and near-peer mentoring was initiated. Thanks to Reka, one of our inaugural cohort of College Student Leaders and now herself a first-generation college graduate, for planning and running this team-building event.

On Sunday, August 21, and again on Friday, August 26, Reka held an orientation session for juniors. She helped Fellows set up their emails and get acclimated to the MTB Google classroom and requirements. If you missed this session or need more help, reach out to your Leader and/or Reka, rogreka@morethanbootstraps.org. 

Coming Up Soon

Junior Fellows have hopefully all connected with their Leaders (mentors). Weekly mentoring will begin the week of September 10.

Senior Fellows will gather on Friday, September 2, and, led by College Student Leader Kamila, they will set their own short-term and long-term higher education goals as they enter their second year as MTB Fellows.

Mark your calendar! We gather for our first Full Group Meeting on Zoom on Saturday, September 24, 10-11 AM.

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